Adam Baron

Hi Internet! I'm Drew and THIS IS MY FACE.

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The Israeli Air Force has begun carrying out a series of strikes on Yemen's Hudayda port.

The Sanaa-based Ministry of Health is reporting 35 dead and over a hundred injuries in today's apparently Israeli strikes in Sanaa and al-Jawf.

Another series of apparent Israeli airstrikes rocking Sanaa this afternoon.

If the Israelis are willing to hit Hamas in Doha, it certainly raises the question of if the same is true of the Houthi/AA delegation in Muscat.

Just one of many reverberating through the region at the moment…

It Only Tuesday

It Only Tuesday https://theonion.com/it-only-tuesday-1819569397/

APNewsAlert: TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel says Houthi drone from Yemen has hit near Israel's southern airport, halting flights.

Houthi/AA-aligned authorities carrying out another crackdown on international organizations operating in areas under their control today, this time storming WFP's office in Sanaa and reportedly arresting a number of WFP and UNICEF staff members.

Relations between AA and GPC remnants are already pretty shite. Even if it killed a lot of historically GPC-aligned officials, the strike provides an excuse for a politically useful crackdown while giving further impetus for AA leadership to retract further into the movement's inner circle. (2/2)

What does this mean? So far, none of those reported killed are among the echelon of Houthi/AA leadership that actually has decision-making power. This strike is, unsurprisingly, going to drive Houthi-aligned officials even further underground. Most key leadership has long been quite reclusive. (1/2)

Jamal Amr, the Houthi foreign minister, and Hashim Sharafeldin, Minister of Information (and son of slain Houthi intellectual Dr. Ahmed Sharafedine), now among those reported killed. As initial reports suggested, seems like a decent chunk of the Houthi-aligned cabinet is dead or wounded.

Rahawi was a relatively weak figurehead rather than a powerful Houthi leader; key question is who was killed alongside him, which the Houthis remain mum on. Either way, this marks a key rubicon crossed in terms of Israeli hits on Houthi-aligned officials.

رئاسة الجمهورية تنعي رئيس حكومة التغيير والبناء وعددا من رفاقه الثورة نت/.. أصدرت رئاسة الجمهورية اليمنية بيان نعي في استشهاد رئيس حكومة التغيير والبناء المجاهد أحمد غالب الرهوي، وعدد من رفاقه من الوزراء جراء العدوان الصهيوني الغادر فيما يلي نصه: بسم الله الرحمن ...

Houthi authorities confirm the chatter that Houthi-aligned PM, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, and several other (unnamed) ministers were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Sanaa.
althawrah.ye/archives/104...

"Chicago Pope" is like a 1994 SNL sketch. Airs at 12:20am, the only gag is that Chris Farley has a mustache and is doing a big accent. David Spade and the guest host (Joe Mantegna) keep breaking during it.

If youre not burning your battery from refreshing your phone every 30 seconds, are you really a Catholic millennial?

Trump announces the Red Sea “capitulation” of the Houthis. (No corresponding announcement/word from the Houthis).

2nd Century Yemenis excelled in Greco-Roman influenced bronzework, apparently.

The Al-Sabah Collection’s Ancient South Arabian art holdings are absolutely incredible—a must see for anyone passing through Kuwait.

Photos suggest destruction of three Yemenia passenger jets and significant damage to the Sanaa Airport departure hall.

There's a weird contradiction in Yemen, where the confict between the Houthis and the US and Israelis continues to escalate even as once white-hot internal frontlines remain relatively frozen. Hard to imagine this will hold forever.

Rounds of Israeli airstrikes currently targeting Sanaa international airport.

What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!

www.vatican.va/content/fran...

From Pope Francis' Easter message yesterday, "Urbi et Orbi"

A Big Heart Open to God: An interview with Pope Francis “It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”

"the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle."

www.americamagazine.org/faith/2013/0...

“We suffer from a deficit of internationalism… I can’t help but be fond of the Argentine soccer fan currently inhabiting the biggest house in Rome. This is virtually the only world leader to stand up and insist on human solidarity, the unity of the human species, in almost every speech he makes.”

"For it is by drinking of that same love that we become capable of forging bonds of fraternity, of recognizing the dignity of each human being, and of working together to care for our common home."

www.vatican.va/content/fran...

Pope at Urbi et orbi: Full text of his meditation - Vatican News Pope Francis meditated on the calming of the storm from the Gospel of Mark during the prayer service over which he presided on the steps of St Peter's ...

Pope Francis’ Extraordinary Urbi et orbi in response to covid is one of the essential texts of how we—as Catholics, as people—should respond to the tumult of the world we’re living in, rooted in a radical vision of hope and sense of collective duty.

Text here:
www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

We—as Catholics, as people—have been truly blessed to have Pope Francis where he was at a time when the world was in dire need of the Church’s prophetic vision. Sadness not withstanding, its hard not to be overwhelmed with gratitude for his voice and leadership.

Pope Francis has died, Vatican says in video statement Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.

We love you, Francis.
www.reuters.com/world/pope-f...

Exclusive Extract: Borrowing a Head by Abdoo Taj In this surrealist short story set in Yemen's capital city…

"Losing a Head," a grumly humorous short story by Yemeni writer Abdoo Taj, up at @wasafirimag.bsky.social (my translation)

www.wasafiri.org/content/excl...

Before the Signal Scandal, Yemen Was Already on Edge US airstrikes have brought fear of renewed conflict, even as the familiar rhythms of Ramadan evoke a more peaceful past

Some reflections from a week in Yemen.

On a wider level, the Trump administration's escalation potentially upsets a relative stalemate in a decades-long conflict. On the ground, it has recentered the war amidst the discordant, resiliency normalcy of the rhythms of Ramadan.